“Ball dogs” to make a comeback at the Brazil Open

Remember the adorable ball dogs who captured the hearts of million at last year’s Brazil Open tennis tournament? Pulled out of shelters in São Paulo, they outshone the tennis players as they worked to enthusiastically retrieve the tennis balls on the field – sometimes forcing the players to chase them before surrendering the ball!

The goal was to shine a light on the plight of street dogs in São Paulo and hopefully find a home for each ball dog. It was a success: a year on, all four of them have been adopted and six more shelter dogs – Cindy, Nanda, Pretinha, Mia, Arlete and Ovelha – have been picked to take their place in this year’s Brazil Open. The dogs will be picking balls during the semifinals and the final match of the tournament, on 4 and 5 March – and hopefully hand them back to the players without too much of a fuss!

A post shared by Brasil Open (@brasilopen) on Feb 15, 2017 at 10:34am PST

This project is promoted by the PremieR Pet food company. The company’s Marketing Manager Madalena Spinazzola said in an interview on the Brazil Open’s official website, “They are dogs that have had a difficult history, yes, but what we want to highlight is not their harsh past. This is to prove that, regardless what they have gone through, they can be great companions today and in the future.”